Flyers' Backup Goalie Search Has One Fewer Option, and Camp Is Getting Closer

The 15-month suspension confirmed last week for the ex-Flyers goaltender was noted here the day it came through. Worth revisiting now: that's not just a news item, it's a door that closed. Philadelphia already entered this offseason with Dan Vladar as the only netminder who logged meaningful time last season, and the front office has yet to move on that gap in any visible way.

Training camp is approaching, and the market hasn't waited. Other organizations have been active at the backup level — Florida addressed it in late July — while the Flyers have spent their extension energy on Zegras, Drysdale, Vladar, and Grebenkin. All defensible commitments. None of them solve the problem behind Vladar.

My read is that this is the most quietly urgent item on the roster right now — quieter than the Michkov situation, which at least has a known deadline, and quieter than the forward injuries, which may resolve before camp. The goaltending gap has no natural resolution date. It just gets closer to mattering.